Obama urges Europe to stabilize banks, ease austerity

US President Barack Obama urged European leaders to stabilize banks and to ease up on extreme austerity programmes.Speaking as European Union officials worked over the weekend on a huge rescue plan for Spain's feeble banks, Obama said the ongoing weakness in the eurozone was a concern for the US economy's own health.But he was confident EU leaders appreciated the severity of a crisis that weighs heavily on his prospects of reelection in November.

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US President Barack Obama urged European leaders to stabilize banks and to ease up on extreme austerity prgrammes.Speaking as European Union officials worked over the weekend on a huge rescue plan for Spain's feeble banks, Obama said the ongoing weakness in the eurozone was a concern for the US economy's own health.But he was confident EU leaders appreciated the severity of a crisis that weighs heavily on his prospects of reelection in November.

Rep. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania, an opponent of abortion, will not be seeking reelection at the end of his current term, ending speculation about his future a day after a news report claimed the married Republican had asked a woman with whom he had an extramarital affair to get an abortion.
“After discussions with my family and staff, I have come to the decision that I will not seek reelection to Congress at the end of my current term,” Murphy, 65, said in a statement.

The cracks in the foundation, walls, and ceiling of the European Union are beginning to widen. During an interview with Italian State TV RAI3, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis hinted at Greece's "New Deal for Europe" strategy (to be financed by the EIB) but it was the glimpse behind the curtain of EU solidarity that was most shocking as he explained, "Greeks don't have a monopoly on the truth.

In the wake of a huge market reaction on Friday, it's interesting to see how the headlines read other places, especially Spain.
Here is one such viewpoint by El Confidencial: Government 'sacrificed' Bank of Spain in Exchange for Financial Sector Bailout

BY MATTHEW WINKLER Lots of smart people expect Greece to default and leave the European Monetary Union. Global investors are not among them. Even before Greece reached its bailout deal with European creditors this month, few investors thought Greece would exit the euro zone. Despite continuing turmoil, they still don't. Why not? Because the market has confidence in the benefits bestowed by the common currency — and even more confidence that Greeks view things the same way. You can see it in the price of Greek bonds. If investors thought default was likely, the bonds would get cheaper.

Here is an interesting interview between Mohamed El-Erian, CEO of PIMCO, and Bloomberg Television's Betty Liu and Michael McKee this morning regarding the situation in Europe and the global economy.El-Erian said that it's "striking" that German Chancellor Angela Merkel can't agree on the "easy part" and that "unfortunately it's a mess" in Europe.